Chopped Cheese

New York City is the original home of plenty of fascinating, delicious dishes, but nothing holds a candle to the iconic chopped cheese sandwich. It’s the bodega classic with seared adobo-seasoned ground beef and chopped onions, gooey American cheese, and lettuce-tomato-mayo on a soft hero roll. Now you can make this easy, cheesy sandwich without booking a flight to the Big Apple.

Enjoy this handheld meal dipped in ketchup, more mayo, or spicy mustard but for the full experience, you’ll need to pop open a bag of your favorite chips and your favorite can of something fizzy. To enjoy this meal like a real New Yorker, serve it up on a front stoop (or porch), over the hood of your car, or while walking to an event you’re already 15 minutes late for.

How To Make A Chopped Cheese

INGREDIENTS

• Yellow Onion: Onions are a classic chopped cheese ingredient and an easy way to add flavor to such a simple sandwich. Yellow onions are preferred for their availability and cooking versatility.
• Lean Ground Beef: The ground beef is what makes a chopped cheese a chopped cheese. In an actual bodega or corner store, they often use pre-formed hamburger patties that are chopped on the grill with a spatula. Using ground beef will help you skip the step of forming patties, but if that’s what you have on hand, use it!
• Adobo Seasoning: A seasoning mix commonly found in food from countries with people of Spanish descent, made from a blend of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and turmeric. The chopped cheese originated in East Harlem, and naturally, their largely Latinx population gravitated toward foods and flavors that echoed their home-cooked favorites. It’s the perfect combo of flavors to create an insanely savory sandwich. Not all store-bought adobo seasonings are created equally! Some have a higher salt content than others. Start with 2 tsp. as written but if you feel like the chopped beef needs a little more flavor, feel free to amp it up with an extra 1/2 tsp.
• American Cheese: The cheese is half of this sandwich’s namesake, so it’s important to get this right. It’s all about the melt factor. Mild, creamy, and salty, American cheese is hands-down the best melting cheese for an indulgent, comfort-food sandwich.
• 12" Hero Roll: A shareable hero roll is sturdy enough to hold the hearty fillings, soft enough to not scrape the roof of your mouth, and chewy enough to provide contrast with the creamy, cheesy. A kaiser roll is also a popular option.
• Iceberg Lettuce: While not typically my first choice when it comes to sandwich greens, iceberg lettuce is the absolute best choice for chopped cheese. A rich sandwich like this is begging for a healthy dose of crunch.
• Tomatoes: Is it really a deli sandwich without tomato? I think not. Skip the behemoth beefsteak tomatoes for this and go with something smaller like a vine-ripe tomato.
• Mayonnaise: Despite the creamy beef filling, this sandwich definitely benefits from a little mayo smeared on both sides of the bread. Try to get coverage all the way to the edge of the bread for an evenly lubricated bites.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the skillet. The pan is hot enough when a few drops of water added to the pan bead up instead of immediately evaporating.

Cook some onions with a bit of oil until they’re just beginning to soften, but if they’re browning, you can throw in a couple tablespoons of water.

Now it’s time for the ground beef and adobo seasoning. Use a wooden spoon to break the beef into small pieces. Alternatively, you can use a pound of pre-formed, completely thawed burger patty if you’ve got that on hand. Cook the beef until it develops a deep brown color, with some pieces developing a darker crust.

Spread the beef evenly in the pan and top with cheese slices. Put a lid or baking sheet on the skillet and let the cheese melt for a bit, then stir until it's completely melted.

Place each roll on a sheet of parchment paper. Remove some of the bread from the rolls to give yourself room for plenty of stuffings. Fill the rolls with desired add-ins. Be sure to season with pepper though! For a classic presentation, tightly wrap the sandwiches in individual pieces of parchment and cut in half.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Variations:

• Spicy Chopped Cheese: Add pepper Jack cheese and jarred hot peppers.
• Taco Chopped Cheese: Add taco seasoning and pickled jalapeños.
• Buffalo Ranch Chopped Cheese: Add Buffalo sauce and ranch dressing.

Recipe Tips:

• Additional Chopped Cheese Toppings: Make this your own by adding jarred hot peppers, sweet peppers, hot sauce, ketchup, and/or mustard.
• Bread Options for a Chopped Cheese: The hero is the standard choice, but a kaiser roll is always a great backup option.
• Substitutions: Make this vegetarian by swapping the beef for your favorite plant-based ground beef.

Storage:

• How to store: Store chopped cheese components separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
• How to reheat: Reheat ground beef filling in microwave 2 to 3 minutes, or until heated through. Heat roll in microwave to 10-15 seconds and build sandwich.